What critics say about Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings

Hew McLeod
Khushwant Singh Afternoon Dispatch and Courier
Sikh Diaspora The Hindu The Tribune
Review Essay published in Re-Markings: A Biannual Journal of English Letters New!

Your book Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings has arrived and what a splendid work it has proved to be. Please accept my sincere congratulations on having produced such an impressive work. It deserves to be widely used by parents with children. I am sure that the children will be fascinated by the illustrations which you have chosen and that these will greatly commend the book to their understanding.

Hew McLeod.
Emeritus Professor,
University of Otago
New Zealand

Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings is beautifully illustrated with a highly readable text.

Khushwant Singh

In The Hindustan Times book page

Japji and Word of God

Window to the world of Guru
Published in AFTERNOON DISPATCH AND COURIER, Bombay, India

In his own way, Guru Nanak used subtle persuasion, humour, sarcasm and even admonition to spread the message that everyone – the rich and the poor, man and woman – had equal status in His court. This book studies the life and the teachings of Guru Nanak, as reflected in his compositions. Special stress had been laid on discussing the morning prayer, Japji the establishment of the institutions of sangat and ‘langar’ and the Guru’s message for improving the status of women.
Reproductions of rare eighteenth century miniature paintings and line drawings, and of a series from the nineteenth century Janamsakhi, that has never been published before, have been used to illustrate the life of Guru Nanak. Maps depicting the travels of Guru Nanak help give a clearer picture of His travels.
What is being presented here is a simple account, which has been based both on scholarly works and on absorbed oral tradition which is very much a part of a Sikh’s life. The visuals in the book form a prominent part of this book because they enhance in many ways our understanding. There is no contemporary likeness of Guru Nanak that has survived. What we have are idealised renderings envisioning Guru nanak. They were created a-century-and-a-half after Guru Nanak in the style of Indian miniature then in vogue. According to the author, this book is not to dispense knowledge. This book is a small window to the world of Guru Nanak and his teachings. The writing of this book has been a great learning experience and the aim is to share it, to make the life and the teaching of the founder of the Sikh religion more accessible, and to whet the reader’s appetite for more.